Dark Passion
by Snuffex
Summary: Dark laughter rang out behind her. "Young mortal did you think you could escape me?" A silky voice reached through the blood pounding in her ears. She desperately reached for the lights of her salvation. She wanted to scream. Help Me! Someone!


_Snuffex: Heh, I'm back after a long month of finals. Those of you waiting for a chapter to Crossing Worlds sorry but I haven't gotten it up yet, it should be done by the end of the week though. Alright, so here is my short little horror story. I've been playing with this idea for a while and finally I finished it. Let me know how it is._

_Disclamer: No, I don't own Gundam Wing, the characters, or their general make up the creator does. I am only using what has already been created for some amusement. I am not making a profit off of this either, and I have no wish to be sued. So, now that is done on with the story.  
_

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Dark Passion

Rustling broke through the area as something darted quickly from one shadow to the next. Panting could be heard as the young woman ran headless of the damage that she was taking by the unforgiving forest around it.

Tears poured down her face as her delicate skin was once again cut open by one of the trees she ran past. She left a trail of blood as she continued to flee. Her feet were bare as she had left her shoes at home, and this was all done to satisfy her continuous curiosity. A curiosity that will now be the death of her.

She should of listened to the elders of the village. But, instead like most of her age group she had scoffed at the idea of something evil living within the peaceful looking woods that surrounded the peaceful village. She remembered the old one's whispering to each other as the moon was becoming full. They frightfully whispered about a beast that lived deep within the woods, and how this night was time of its hunting. Her and her friends laughed mockingly at the old man Howard was his name a trapper by trade, as he tried to warn the youth of the village to stay away from the woods that night, something he does monthly. He was always dressed in the most outrageous clothes. His shirt was always bright and a colleague full of color. It was a wonder that he managed to trap anything with such a flashy dress sense.

He had looked crossly at the group of giggling girls. "You may think what I have been saying is nothing but a huge joke, but I assure you this is no laughing matter ladies. This thing is older then the village itself. Though, it keeps to its own territory its on nights like the one tonight that it will come out to hunt, and trust me none of you younglings want to be anywhere near the woods when it does."

She had snorted back at the crazy old man, and laughed a long with her friends when one of the younger boys snuck up behind the outrageously dressed coot and kicked him in the back of his knee. Her group walked off as Howard had gotten up cursing the kid and yelling how it was bad kids like that one who would become the creature's next meal if his ways didn't change. She should of listened. If only she had heeded the tales and stayed in bed that night this wouldn't be happening.

She was still awake after most the town had long since gone to sleep. She was wispily looking out her window fantasizing about the man that she wished to marry. She always imagined him as having dark hair and piercing eyes. She had easily lost herself in the fantasy and was only pulled out of her self-induced happiness when a flicker of black cloth caught her interest out of the corner of her eye. She pushed honey blond hair out of her face as the movement came again. It seemed to beckon her, and suddenly she couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer. So she ignored her basic instinct that screamed at her to ignore it and go to bed.

She should of listened.

The young woman winced as a sharp stone cut her foot and a new line of crimson joined others on the bottom of her foot, and it was at that moment that she wished it was the bratty young boy that was running for his life and not her. That it was him, who's tears were blocking out sight, and that it was his muffled sobbing that followed him as he ran in a blind panic from what was behind. But it wasn't, it was her. She was the one being hunted this night, and in that instated she hated all those who were safely tucked away in their homes ignorant of the life and death struggle that she was going through.

She could feel it gaining on her a shadow that was deathly silent in its pursuit. Her chest hurt as she labored to bring in the air that she desperately needed to continue on. Her sobbing was no longer muffled for she could no longer pretend to herself that if she was quiet the predator would leave her be. She cried out as her pursuer purposely snapped a twig a dozen or so paces behind her. It just wanted to watch as she tried futilely to pick up her pace. A dark laugh echoed out from behind her and surrounded the area in dark pleasure that seemingly dripped off of everything it touched. Her soul quailed at it, and she stumbled.

She quickly rightened herself and pushed on. It was closer now. Much, much closer. She could almost feel its breath on the back of her neck. She was doomed.

Then it came. There was a break in the mass of trees around her and in it a light flickered.

It was the town!

She was almost back to her home! Relief flooded her and she let out a smile. She was almost home!

If only she could continue to evade the pursuer behind her. A few more feet left!

She's Out!

She Made IT!

Happiness flooded her being as she broke out of the trees and entered the field that held her village.

And then she tripped.

The air whooshed out of her lungs as she hit the ground hard. How?! How was it possible for her to trip? There was nothing in front of her. Nothing! Then she felt it. Something had her by the ankle. It was her pursuer she knew it. Her eyes widened as she was slowly pulled back toward the woods. She wanted to scream. She could feel the pressure building inside of her, but it was stuck. A whimper was let out as she was dragged backwards. She clawed desperately at the ground trying to pull herself away from the trees. She was crying again. Her tears fell over her face in desperate streams of water. She was so close, she was almost home.

Why did it turn out like this? Why?

The laughter rang out again.

"Young mortal did you think you could escape me?" A silky voice reached through the blood pounding in her ears.

The words engulfed her. They were heavy pressing her being in to the ground. She desperately reached for the lights of her salvation. Her mind making screaming out the words she could give no voice to. Help!

Someone, please! Save Me!

More laughter. Finally her voice started to work.

Her scream pierced the night as the forest fully swallowed her ripping the town people from their sleep. The scream continued to grow fainter and fainter as the owner of the voice was dragged further from sanctuary, but still within hearing distance of the town and its residents. The town peoples shuddered in wide eye fear as faint screams continued to pierce through the night. Lovers clinging to each other, siblings seeking shelter in their parents beds hoping that their terrified guardians will keep all the bad things away. Howard shook his head he knew that one of the village youths was lost this night. The same as when he was younger. Some one was foolish enough to venture into the woods at night, and their family members had lost an irreplaceable loved one. He only prayed that the person would be given a swift death, a pray that he knew would be unanswered.

Again and again, they listened to her terror and pain filled screams that seemingly went on for hours. The screams slowly died down then stopped. The town of El Two was covered in a blissful silence as the sun rose over the mountains and bathed the area with its warm glow. A false lull of security that had fallen of the town was shattered as wails of morning and loss shot through it.

A mother's wail, "My baby! My Child!"

A Father cry of outrage, "Relena!"

A brother's scream of loss.

It was the Peacecrafts! It was one of theirs that ignored the warning, and one of their own that paid in blood.

They towns people searched the for the missing girl. Her father in the lead his face a mask of misery. Howard was right behind him. He already knew what they would find he was there when they had found his friend 20 years ago. A vision that had haunted him for the past 20 years.

"Howard, we reaching a deeper part of the forest we need you to lead." The Peacecraft Head's voice almost broke. His son placed a supportive hand on his father's shoulders. His platinum blond hair rustled around him as he moved to his grieving father. He was trying to shoulder both the pain of his father and himself. Howard gave props to the kid. He was actively looking for his sister despite what is waiting for him as a result.

The old man gauged the emotions that he saw in the father and son duo. He did not want what had happened 20 years ago to happen again. His friends father never did recover from the shock of seeing what was left of his son. Howard nodded to himself, the lad would be strong enough of the both of them.

"Yeah, alright." Howard turned to lead them in deeper then he paused. He looked back at the group of men behind Milliardo and his father.

"The further we go into the woods the less likely chance any of you will not be scarred by what you will see ahead. Any of you who want to continue to live in ignorance about what these woods really house then I suggest you go home now."

The men behind him all looked around nervously, but the old trapper paid them no heed.

"We'll soon becoming to the place that he loves dump the bodies. But, with the noise from last night I'd have to say that He may of just killed the girl in that place." There was a chocked sob from the Peacecraft head.

Milliardo shot the old man's back a nasty glare.

"You don't know that she's dead Howard! Keep those kind of comments to yourself!" At that the old man snapped. Howard whirled around to face the group of men.

"THIS IS NO JOKE!" His booming voice shook the leaves on the too still trees that the group had been traveling under.

"I have spent the past 20 years to figuring out what He is and what His habits are! And, through all of these years that I have been looking after and studying Him do you know how many of his prey that has escaped Him?!" There was a pregnant pause, no one wishing to voice a number, and some instinct with in the men already knew what the old trapper was going to say.

"NONE!"

"NOT A DAMN ONE!" The trapper took a deep breath to calm himself.

"No creature that falls prey to Him has ever escaped. Once He is hunting you there is nothing but death!" Howard's glare drilled into the striking blue eye's of Relena's brother. Howard took a deep breath

to calm himself before he went on.

"He is ancient and has been living in this place far longer then our town has been. Something left over from the old days were magic and creatures of the imagination existed. From what I've come to believe is that He may be even older then that." Howard shifted, then sighed as he began to lead again.

"I am sorry. Truly I am but Relena has not survived this night." His voice had almost died down to a whisper at the end of his sentence. There was no more talking after that. The men continued to trek onwards. They raveled for what seemed like hours, and as they did so the forest around them began to become quieter and quieter. Soon all the noises of the forest died out and the only sound that could be heard was the crunch of boots one the ground and the labored breathing of the group.

Howard's face became grimmer, they were getting close. Then all to soon the smell hit the insignificant noses of the humans. The sickenly heavy smell of copper filled the air and logged itself down the groups throats until it felt like the men would choke on it. One man gagged trying to rid himself of the feeling of blood sliding down through his nose and into his mouth. Howard's voice pierce through the stillness, "We're almost there."

No sooner then the words had passed his lips their world was engulfed in color. Bright crimson was everywhere. It covered the trees, the ground, the leaves, everything. There was nothing in that small clearing that wasn't painted in it. The men's eyes widened, the blood! It was engulfing them! It was as though their dull grey world was viciously and violently splashed with the crimson. But, not only was it the blood that stole their breath's but also emotions of what had happened the night before entered them. The feeling of pure terror turned them all white. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the worst was what waited for them in the middle of that clearing.

Like every thing else it too was covered in crimson. Only the blood was still fresh. It dripped in slow motion to the eyes that looked upon it.

Drip.

Drip!

DRIP!

There was sound now. So much sound. Someone was screaming. Absolute terror and heartbreak was contained in that scream. It was wretched, never before has any of the village men heard such a scream. None but one that is. Howard's pale face looked in sympathy to the hysterically screaming man beside him. It was the same, the exact same scream that he had heard so very long ago on a day such as this. Only it was a different father, and a different dead child. But, the scream! The scream that has haunted him for 20 years and will continue to haunt him for the rest of his life.

The child was everywhere. Her entrails had been completely pulled from her stomach and draped casually on tree limbs in a grotesque form of decoration. Her chest cavity was gaping wide open white bone a stark contrast of the crimson that covered the lump of flesh, and let the eyes of the world fall upon what they use to discretely guard. Or, at least what had been left. her lungs and heart were barely visible. The thing had taken great pleasure in crushing them so badly that they were nothing more then a pile of combined liquid goop that reminded the men of some not so pleasant stew that was served at the local inn.

Her right arm was located to the left of the group, stripped bare of skin so the muscles of the appendage could be displayed in full detail. It was apparent that she had struggled, her fingers were bent and so broken that the bone cut cleanly through the fine tendons. Her legs were no where to be seen, but from the signs that Howard could read through the mess the creature must of flung them away somewhere to the north of the group. Her left arm was still attached to the body but only just so, it clung weakly against the shoulder joint by no more then a thin thread of blood vessels. It too like it's twin was stripped bare of flesh.

But, then again, most of her flesh was missing. From the neck down she had no skin left. The group located the strips of skin soon enough. They were the strange lumps of crimson that clung to the trees like a babe to its mother's tit. Howard didn't want to but almost as if against his will his eyes trailed to the girls face, and from the noises he was hearing from the others they too were looking into pale sightless blue eyes. The Peacecraft

Head had long since collapsed within himself muttering the name of the girl over and over again as if by some miracle she would come back to life and not be the violently murdered corpse in front of him. Milliardo, toughed it out for as long as he could and then his face looked upon her's. What he saw finally made him break down. He hardly felt his knees hit hard unforgiving earth as a wail clawed it's way up his throat. It came out as a choked whimper.

A couple of the men behind the three in front lost to their stomach and finally heaved up what was left in their stomach from that morning. One of them finally gained control over himself and whimpered in fear.

"Her face! By the Gods! She's smiling at me!"

She was indeed. She was smiling at them all. It was empty and dark, not one that is achieved by the living but by those of the dead. What was worse, what made it far worse was the smile wasn't the child's. No, it was

Him! The smile was a full tooth grin, it practically pounded malicious and evil at them. It was a smile that didn't belong on any human being, dead or alive. The Peacecraft's Head's voice pulled Howard from the vision.

"You said....." There was a pause as the man's voice cracked. "You said that this thing eats."

Howard's throat suddenly went dry.

"What....does...it...eat?"

He choked.

"The Soul." The words were barely a whisper. Then slightly louder, "He eats your soul."

"what....is th....is.....thing...ho..war...d?" The words were soft and broken. Howard swallowed twice to bring moister back to his dry throat, and turned to look into a new set of dead blue eyes on the face of the living.

He couldn't lie to the lad or his father even though he wanted to. He wanted to tell them that it was a creature that could be killed for that was what the question was really about. The lad wanted to know it He could be killed by human hands. His voice hardened like steel over the sub question.

"He is Death." The old trapper looked back at the corpse.

Then in a softer voice, "He is the Shinigami."

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_Snuffex: Whoho, finished. I might make this a two-shot, but only if people are really interested in what happened while Relena died. Yes, I killed too bad for Relena fans. No really I'm sorry she is just such an easy victim. Those of you who don't know who killed by the end of this small horror story should be shot. Anyways thanks for reading and all reveiws are appreciated so please do this way I will know if I should add another chapter or not. _


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